Interested in joining us for one of our Thursday Thesis Think Tank meetings?
Every thesis writer and thesis project is unique, and arguably the single most important thing that you can do as a thesis adviser is to get to know your student well and to be supportive and attentive as they work towards their spring deadline. The amount of structure that different concentrations offer their students can also have a significant impact on how you think about your role as an adviser. In some cases you may feel like an extension of the department’s undergraduate office, encouraging your student to follow its well-articulated pathway towards completion and nudging your student to heed (albeit perhaps with some discretion) its recommended proposal or draft deadlines. In other cases you may be the one responsible for translating the concentration’s somewhat vague guidelines into an actionable roadmap of recommended thresholds and dates. It’s well worth establishing a healthy line of communication with the concentration’s undergraduate office (and with anyone else involved in advising your student’s academic work) from the start of your advising relationship.
Regardless of the precise structure and obligations surrounding your position as an adviser, there are a number of things which you can do to help just about any student have a meaningful, and successful, experience with the senior thesis. Here are five key contributions which you can make:
In an ideal world, every student would enter the thesis process fully prepared for every aspect of scholarly work. They all would know how to ask an analytical question suitable for a 60- or 100-page paper, how to find relevant data, how to draw lucid figures, how to format every footnote or methods section, … . Likewise, we might wish that every thesis topic lent itself equally well to the particular constraints of Harvard’s resources and academic calendar. If only that essential cache of Russian manuscripts existed in a published English translation in Widener! If only this experimental protocol took two weeks rather than four months! In reality, however, every thesis involves some compromise—perhaps significant compromise. One of your most important jobs as a thesis adviser is to roleplay your student’s future audience, and to help your student understand that the most successful theses ask questions that are not only meaningful, but that can be answered at least somewhat plausibly by the set of skills, resources, and time that is available to a Harvard undergraduate. Insofar as a student is determined to tackle a dissertation-sized question, the adviser can at least remind the student that it will be important to frame the results as a “partial” answer or a “contribution towards” an answer in the introduction.
As with the previous point about managing expectations, it is important that an adviser be able to remind their student that the senior thesis is not, and will not be, the moment when students magically become “better” people than they already are. Students who have been night owls during their first three years of college are unlikely to transform miraculously into the type of scholars who rise at 6am and write 1000 words before breakfast—no matter how much they yearn to emulate some academic role model. Students who have participated actively in a sport or other extracurricular are unlikely to be able to simply recoup those hours for thesis work—cutting back three hours/week at The Crimson is at least as likely to translate into three more hours spent bantering in the dining hall as it is into three hours spent poring over the administrative structure of the Byzantine Empire. The point is that students can benefit from being reminded that they already know how to do the kind of work expected of them on the thesis, and that it may be counterproductive—if not downright unhealthy—to hold themselves to new or arbitrary standards.
With relatively few exceptions, most of the writing projects assigned in college are sufficiently modest that students can wait to start writing until they have figured out the full arc of what they want to say and how they want to say it. It’s possible, in other words, to plan and hold the entirety of a five-page essay in one’s head. This is simply not true of a senior thesis. Theses require the author to take a leap of faith—to start writing before the research is done and long before they know exactly what they want to say. Students may be reluctant to do this, fearing that they might “waste” precious time drafting a section of a chapter that ultimately doesn’t fit in the final thesis. You can do your student a world of good by reminding them that there is no such thing as wasted writing. In a project as large as a thesis, writing is not merely about reporting one’s conclusions—it is the process through which students come to figure out what their conclusions might be, and which lines of research they will need to pursue to get there.
While academic research and writing can and should be a creative endeavor, it is also undeniably true that even professional scholars draw upon a relatively constrained set of well-known strategies when framing their work. How many different ways, after all, are there to say that the conventional wisdom on a topic has ignored a certain genre of evidence? Or that two competing schools of thought actually agree more than they disagree? Or that fiddling with one variable has the power to reframe an entire discussion? Students may struggle to see how to plug their research into the existing scholarly conversation around their topic. Showing them models or templates that demystify the ways in which scholars frame their interventions can be enormously powerful.
As noted above, the senior thesis is a long process, and while it’s rarely a good idea for students to change their work habits in an effort to complete it, it is important that they be working early and often. Occasionally students do become overwhelmed by the scope of the project, and begin to feel defeated by the incremental nature of progress they are making. Even a good week of work may yield only a couple of pages of passable writing. Ideally a student feeling overwhelmed would come to their adviser for some help putting things into perspective. But for a student used to having a fair amount of success, the struggles involved in a senior thesis may be disorienting, and they may worry that they are “disappointing” you. For some, this will manifest as a retreat from your deadlines and oversight—even as they outwardly project confidence. They may begin bargaining with themselves in ways that only serve to sink them deeper into a sense of panic or shame. (“I’m long past the deadline for my first ten pages—but if I give my adviser a really brilliant fifteen-page section, he won’t mind! Surely I can turn these four pages into fifteen if I stay up all night!”) One of the best things that you can do as an adviser is keep contact with your student and make sure to remind them that your dynamic is not one of “approval” or “disapproval.” It is important that they maintain a healthy and realistic approach to the incremental process of completing the thesis over several months.
The Art of Thesis Writing: A handout for students
Harvard's Academic Resource Center on Senior Theses
Senior Thesis Tutors at the Harvard College Writing Center
Choosing a thesis advisor is the most important decision of your life--perhaps more important than choosing a spouse--because your choice affects everything you will do in your career. Indeed, choosing an advisor is similar to getting married: it is making a long-term commitment. Unlike marriage, however, a good advising relationship should end successfully within a few years. Also, unlike husband and wife, the advisor and student do not start as equals. At first, the relationship is essentially an apprenticeship. But although you start as an apprentice, ideally, you should end as a colleague.
As you consider which professor might serve as an advisor, you should first formulate your goals in undertaking thesis research. A thesis demonstrates your ability to make an original, significant contribution to the corpus of human knowledge. Through your thesis project, you develop skills useful in any career: critical reading of the scholarly or scientific literature, formulation and solution of a problem, clear written and oral communication of the results. Furthermore, you learn the practices of a particular scholarly community: theoretical frameworks and experimental paradigms, publication processes, and standards of professional behavior. You learn how to present a paper at a seminar or a conference, and how to give and receive criticism.
You should seek a thesis advisor who can help you meet your goals, and whose working style is compatible with yours. Here are some specific steps that you can take to find an advisor.
Take a course with a potential advisor, possibly individual study. In an individual study course, you can learn about the professor's working style, with a limited, one semester commitment between you and the professor. The individual study course might involve directed reading, with the goal of producing a survey article that could serve as the basis for a thesis. Or the individual study course might involve a small project in the professor's laboratory.
Ask for copies of grant proposals that describe research projects of possible interest to you. A grant proposal states research problems, explains the importance of the problems in the context of other research, and describes recent progress, including the professor's contributions. Usually, a proposal includes references to journal articles and books that you can look up. You do not need the budget part of the proposal, which contains confidential information about salaries.
Consider working with two advisors. If you are interested in an interdisciplinary project, then you could engage two official advisors, one in each discipline. Even if you choose only one official advisor, you may occasionally seek advice from a second professor, who can provide an alternate perspective. Some departments institutionalize this practice by requiring that the chair of a doctoral committee be different from the thesis advisor. Discuss these arrangements with both professors openly, to minimize possible misunderstandings about each professor's role.
Interview a potential advisor. Before the interview, read some articles written by the professor so that you can ask intelligent questions about the professor's research interests. Prepare several questions such as the following.
What are the professor's standards and expectations for the quality of the thesis, such as the overall length? Will the professor help formulate the research topic?
How quickly will the professor review drafts of manuscripts? Will the professor help you improve writing and speaking skills? Will the professor encourage publication of your work?
Will the professor provide equipment and materials? Will the professor obtain financial support such as funds to travel to conferences or research assistantships? Will the professor help you find appropriate employment? Where have former students gone?
What will your responsibilities be? Will you write proposals or make presentations to research sponsors?
How frequently will you meet with the professor? The most common problem in the humanities and social sciences is insufficiently frequent contact with the advisor. I meet with each of my own thesis students individually for one hour each week, in addition to a weekly group meeting.
What are the obligations to the project funding source? How frequently are reports required? Are deliverables promised? Could publications be delayed by a patent filing? Are there potential conflicts of interest?
How will decisions on co-authorship of papers be made? In engineering and natural sciences, co-authorship is common, but practices vary by discipline. Sometimes, the advisor's name always goes last. Sometimes, the order of names is alphabetical. Sometimes, the first author is the person whose contribution was greatest.
Interview former students. Students who have graduated are more likely to answer your questions candidly than current students. Ask a potential advisor for names and e-mail addresses of former students, whom you can contact.
Was a former student's project unnecessarily prolonged? Did anyone not finish? Why not? Many projects suffer unanticipated delays. Occasionally, for various reasons--not always the advisor's fault--students do not finish theses and dissertations.
How were conflicts resolved? When you work closely with someone else, disagreements are inevitable. The key question is whether conflicts were handled respectfully, with satisfactory resolutions.
If you have a major conflict with your advisor, first attempt to find solutions within you department, consulting another trusted professor, other members of your committee, or the department head. Should you be unable to find a solution by working with people in your department, be assured that we in the Graduate College are available to help mediate conflicts. Fortunately, major conflicts are rare. It is most likely that you will enjoy a successful, intellectually satisfying thesis project.
Students should use this to identify thesis advisors who match their interests and possible thesis topics. This tool is organized by faculty issue and regional expertise.
Narrow your search for an advisor by selecting a policy area or region.
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Its long-term growth plan just hit a small bump in the road.
With Pfizer ( PFE -0.16% ) stock badly underperforming the market over the past three years, falling by 32% while the market rose by close to the same amount, the last thing shareholders want to hear is news of another setback. Alas, the latest stumble was a somewhat unexpected one, and now the company will probably not realize revenue from one of its programs.
But is the stock still worth buying in hopes of a recovery over the long term? To answer that question in more detail, let's put this setback into context.
The story of Pfizer's stock over the last few years is inseparable from the trajectory of its coronavirus vaccine, Comirnaty. In 2022, the vaccine contributed to a total of more than $100 billion in revenue, Pfizer's highest ever. Few thought that such heights were sustainable for the long term, but many, including yours truly, assumed that there would be considerable demand for annual booster doses.
That hasn't happened. The company only expects to make up to $62.5 billion in revenue for 2024. Sales of Comirnaty in the second quarter were just $195 million, down 87% from a year prior, and there's no expectation that they will resurge.
But even after the booster-shot argument for the stock's growth fell apart, the broader bull thesis rooted in the success of Pfizer's infectious-disease segment was far from dead. A combination shot against both seasonal influenza and the prevailing coronavirus variant could potentially bolster profits. With the convenience of one appointment to gain (temporary) protection against more than one illness, the draw to get vaccinated would be much stronger, which would support more sales.
Alas, that door now appears to be closing as well, for entirely different reasons. On Aug. 16, Pfizer and its collaborator BioNTech announced that a phase 3 clinical trial of their joint candidate to prevent COVID as well as two strains of influenza (flu A and flu B) had failed to prove that it generated sufficient immunity against influenza B. In this instance, the bar for "sufficient immunity" is set by other vaccines that are considered to be the standard of care against the same strains of the same viruses.
How big of a setback will these trial results be in terms of lost revenue, assuming the business doesn't find a way to salvage the program?
Per a report by Fortune Business Insights, the market for influenza vaccines could be worth as much as $17.7 billion by 2032, up from more than $7.9 billion in 2023. While the ongoing market for coronavirus jabs is more difficult to size appropriately due to its sharp contractions over the last year and a half, Statista estimates that by 2029 it'll be worth roughly $9.7 billion annually.
Pfizer would be splitting both markets with its competitors if it commercialized a combination shot. But as one of the vaccine market's leaders, it would probably bring in at least $1 billion in sales per quarter with its candidate. That means it might have just lost a chance at launching another blockbuster drug . There aren't any other comparable programs in Pfizer's pipeline right now.
What's more, the chances of it tweaking the candidate, then starting another series of clinical trials that ultimately lead to the vaccine's approval and commercialization, are not high. Competitors like Moderna , GSK , and Sanofi recently hit the same roadblock as Pfizer and BioNTech's candidate did with their respective flu-vaccine programs.
The investment thesis for Pfizer is slightly weakened by its combination-vaccine struggles. But the projected growth of the company, and especially its oncology segment, is still sufficient to justify buying the stock.
With its ever-expanding collection of anti-cancer drugs, it expects to be treating twice as many patients in 2030 as the 2.3 million it treated in 2023. It also expects to have more than eight blockbuster oncology medicines in its portfolio by then, up from just five today. There should be plenty of products that bring in recurring revenue.
Aside from growth, the stock's valuation is currently on the cheap side, trading at a forward price-to-earnings (P/E) multiple of just under 11, based on analysts' estimates. That's far lower than the forward P/E of the S&P 500 , which is 21.6.
The Pfizer of today isn't a screaming buy, but it's still worth purchasing. As its new growth drivers come online, its current bargain price will disappear. Don't read too much into the setbacks with its combination-vaccine candidate; it has many other more lucrative programs in the works.
Alex Carchidi has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool has positions in and recommends Pfizer. The Motley Fool recommends BioNTech Se, GSK, and Moderna. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy .
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Phd candidate alexandra peña hernández successfully defended her thesis.
Dept of Plant Soil and Microbial Sciences - August 25, 2024
“Integrated strategies for improved management of cercospora leaf spot on sugarbeet,” working with lead advisor Jaime Wilbur and the MSU Sugarbeet and Potato Research Unit.
PhD candidate Alexandra Peña Hernández successfully defended her thesis: “ Integrated strategies for improved management of Cercospora leaf spot on sugarbeet,” working with lead advisor Jaime Wilbur and the MSU Sugarbeet and Potato Research Unit .
Faculty, students and staff packed the room while Alex described her process of science and discovery—including many hours driving, working in the field, and a low-key flame thrower , which was attached to a tractor and drove over the crops to test the effects of extreme heat on sugarbeet leaf spot overwintering. “This project was a lot of work, Alex says, “but I have a great team and we all help each other.”
Alex came to PSM after getting her bachelor’s degree in biosystem and agricultural engineering in the College of Engineering here at MSU. “I had met Jaime during a senior design research experience and did an internship with an agronomy company” Alex said. “And that really helped me decide to go to graduate school.” Alex is Jaime Wilbur’s first PhD student to graduate since starting with PSM in 2018.
Alex, who started with an eye on a master’s degree in fall 2019, quickly made the transition to the PhD program. Alex’s plans include finishing up her project, getting married in October, and eventually working in industry or with the USDA. “It’s been such an amazing experience to work with this team,” Alex said.
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Biodegradability and reuse of food waste are two ways that can close the unsustainable open loop of the production/waste cycle. This research examines the potential of using biomass-based bio plastic (renewable and bio-degradable) and food waste (waste-to-resource) to tackle the issue of dependency on fossil fuel-based material and the overburden of landfills.
This thesis investigates the processes of a new range of material production and properties of the new renewable materials in architecture. Testing and fabrication of TPS (thermoplastic starch) and food waste is being conducted in the research to identify the properties and potentialities of the biomaterial. Lifecycle of materials is being examined in terms of its environment impacts and embodied energy. The future application of biodegradable materials for architectural interior spaces is being designed and proposed. The integration of building performance criteria and the material behavior is also being tested and analyzed to further project its future application in architecture.
The intention is to prototype, and test physical and material test using bio plastic mixtures and document their material properties in terms of their design potential, stability and physical behavior within specific environmental context. The Life-cycle assessment of the material is being executed to optimize its environmental impacts and embodied energy. This along with the degradability of the material will aid in the development of the sustainable material and lead to the future application of biodegradable architectural features.
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By: Jennifer Casiano Finding the correct thesis adviser can be a bit problematic for first-year graduate students. It is a 5+ year commitment and it needs careful analysis. Finding a strong mentor can be the key to success for a graduate student, in combination with the positive influence of a research area that students are passionate about.
Advising Guide for Research Students. Success as a graduate student is a shared responsibility between students and faculty. For research students, the relationship with your research advisor, also known as your special committee chair, is extremely important. Your responsibility to identify and choose an advisor is one of the most critical ...
Doctoral advisor. A doctoral advisor (also dissertation director, dissertation advisor; or doctoral supervisor) is a member of a university faculty whose role is to guide graduate students who are candidates for a doctorate, helping them select coursework, as well as shaping, refining and directing the students' choice of sub- discipline in ...
Choosing a thesis advisor or dissertation advisor (often referred to as a dissertation chair) will have a significant impact on your entire dissertation writing experience, and for many years to come. For many doctoral students, their thesis advisor is their single greatest influence in graduate school. Selecting a thesis advisor is a big ...
Choosing a dissertation advisor, therefore, is an extremely important decision for doctoral students, although it is not immutable, as will be discussed later. A student undertaking dissertation work needs an advisor who will be not only academically competent in a particular area but also willing to act as the student's advocate when ...
Establish (and stick to) a regular communication cycle. Develop a clear project plan upfront. Be proactive in engaging with problems. Navigate conflict like a diplomat. 1. Clarify roles on day one. Each university will have slightly different expectations, rules and norms in terms of the research advisor's role.
osing a Thesis AdvisorProcess: Students are required to find a thesis advisor in advance of their thesis semester, in other words, in the semester. receding their thesis prep term*. This means that students must begin to think about their thesis topics and possible corresponding advisors at the start of their op o.
In order to make this process as simple and effective as possible, students should keep in mind the following guidelines when choosing and approaching a faculty member to ask them to be their advisors: 1)Have a compelling and well-thought-out thesis proposal. Exciting and detailed proposals are much more likely inspire confidence and interest ...
Thesis committees are typically composed of a Thesis Advisor from your major department, an Honors Council Representative from your major department, and a third committee member from outside your major department, usually referred to as the Outside Reader. Your thesis advisor is different from your Academic Advisor, and is always a faculty ...
Finding a Thesis Advisor. Choosing an advisor is a critical decision you will face in graduate school. It is normal to sometimes feel overwhelmed by this choice. Still, there are many specific things you can do to make the process less stressful. It is hard to give general advice, because every student is different.
The thesis advisor should meet one-on-one with the student on a regular basis. The advisor should provide timely feedback on the student's work to facilitate ongoing progress on the thesis. 6. The thesis advisor should help the graduate student to select a thesis committee. 7. The thesis advisor should provide a learning environment for his ...
Talk to other students: Ask in-project students about their project advisors, research groups, and how they found their thesis advisor. Take a course and go to office hours: Your primary advisor will ideally be someone with whom you have taken a course. Generally, enrolling in smaller seminars is recommended as seminars provide more opportunity ...
Lastly, your thesis advisor is human; you may not agree with his suggestions every step of the way. Maintain open and honest communication. If there is an area of disagreement, discuss it with him or her. Don't let negative feelings fester. This is a learning experience for both of you, and you want to be certain that it remains a pleasant ...
The thesis advisor has final authority over the composition of the examining committee. The committee will consist of four faculty members with relevant expertise: the thesis advisor, two University of Pittsburgh examiners, and an additional examiner from another institution. The thesis advisor assumes the role of the committee chair and is ...
The word "thesis" refers to both the thesis and the dissertation unless otherwise noted. Advisor's Responsibility. Your advisor serves as a mentor both while you are doing the thesis work and while the results of that work are prepared for the thesis. Although you have primary responsibility for the content, quality, and format of the ...
coordinating with your thesis advisor's schedule will be compounded when coordinating with two busy faculty members. Students should consider having one primary advisor and consulting with other faculty members unofficially. * For example, students completing thesis in the Spring 2020, would need to have thesis advisors by the end of Spring
One of the questions students often have is: what are the differences (if any) between the thesis advisor, chair and reviewer? In this video, I look at some ...
Questions to askother Professors and senior-level graduate students. What is the advisor's professional reputation? Is the advisor close to retiring, or in poor health? Suggestion:Do a literature search of the prospective advisor's publications.
Meeting with the advisor when requested and reporting regularly on progress and results, including informing the advisor of any significant changes that may affect the progress of the research. Establishing a dissertation committee, with the assistance of the advisor, early in the dissertation stage, as required by the graduate group.
As noted above, the senior thesis is a long process, and while it's rarely a good idea for students to change their work habits in an effort to complete it, it is important that they be working early and often. Occasionally students do become overwhelmed by the scope of the project, and begin to feel defeated by the incremental nature of ...
Choosing a thesis advisor is the most important decision of your life--perhaps more important than choosing a spouse--because your choice affects everything you will do in your career. Indeed, choosing an advisor is similar to getting married: it is making a long-term commitment. Unlike marriage, however, a good advising relationship should end ...
Senior Thesis Advisor Selection Guide. Students should use this to identify thesis advisors who match their interests and possible thesis topics. This tool is organized by faculty issue and regional expertise. Narrow your search for an advisor by selecting a policy area or region. - Any -.
NeuroView. In this NeuroView, I provide a guide for young scientists on how to select a graduate advisor or postdoctoral advisor. Good mentorship is not only pivotal for career success, but it is pivotal for driving innovation and for the health of our universities. Universities need to do much more to teach faculty how to mentor and to ensure ...
The bull thesis is weaker now. The story of Pfizer's stock over the last few years is inseparable from the trajectory of its coronavirus vaccine, Comirnaty.
PhD candidate Alexandra Peña Hernández successfully defended her thesis: " Integrated strategies for improved management of Cercospora leaf spot on sugarbeet," working with lead advisor Jaime Wilbur and the MSU Sugarbeet and Potato Research Unit.. Faculty, students and staff packed the room while Alex described her process of science and discovery—including many hours driving, working ...
Biodegradability and reuse of food waste are two ways that can close the unsustainable open loop of the production/waste cycle. This research examines the potential of using biomass-based bio plastic (renewable and bio-degradable) and food waste (waste-to-resource) to tackle the issue of dependency on fossil fuel-based material and the overburden of landfills. This thesis investigates the ...